Oklahoma State’s first-year head coach Eric Morris opened camp with more good news than bad on the injury front, and two familiar names were back in the mix as the Cowboys began their push toward the 2026 season.
The Cowboys have 25 practices lined up before their opener against Tulsa on Sept. 5, and Morris is working with a roster that looks almost entirely rebuilt. More than 100 players are in Stillwater, with nearly 90 new transfers joining the program, including almost 20 from North Texas. Thirteen returning letterwinners remain, along with a freshman class that has also arrived in Stillwater.
At his first press conference after the initial workout, Morris didn’t announce any new injuries. Instead, he highlighted two players who had been sidelined at different points during spring and summer work but were back on the field.
One of them was defensive end Malik Charles, who was back Wednesday after dealing with a scary neck injury in last season’s Kansas game. Charles, who posted three sacks as a junior last season, missed spring work. Now the redshirt senior is back for what will be his final college season after previous stops at Western New Mexico, Northern Arizona and West Georgia.
“He’s big enough to be a presence on the end, and athletic enough to do that,” Morris said. “And then you know, in certain packages, we can move him down and get him matched up on guards as a three technique.”
The other player Morris pointed to was offensive lineman Ashton Lepo, a transfer from Michigan State. The 6-7, 320-pound lineman spent four seasons with the Spartans and started every game at right tackle in 2024. His recovery had limited him to individual work this spring rather than full team drills.
“You knew the skill is there,” Morris said. “He's a little out of shape today. You know, we got to get him in playing shape.”
As for what that means going forward, Charles gives Morris a flexible piece who can play both inside and outside. His quickness inside could help on passing downs, while he can also rotate on the edge with Jaleel Johnson and James Williams. Lepo, meanwhile, should be in the mix for the starting right tackle job once he gets back into game shape, with Joseph Hanson expected to be his main competition.
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